Inside Labour Conference: PM goes missing, Sinn Fein pulls out and Labour’s snap election clue

Thousands of Labour Party members have descended on Liverpool yet again, but this time without the spectre of Andy Burnham’s leadership ambitions casting a cloud of speculation across both sides of the Mersey.

The Prime Minister is preparing to give his speech to members on Tuesday, no doubt with a stronger emphasis on national security given events at RAF Fairford.

Sir Keir Starmer attended the Welsh Night drinks last year, but Mr Burnham went missing from the gathering after being touted as a “very special guest” — although he was photographed that night at a North West event.

The event, which was instead attended by deputy Labour leader Lucy Powell, Labour Chairwoman Bridget Phillipson and Welsh Secretary Stephen Kinnock, was supposed to be a moment to regroup after Labour’s bruising set of elections in May.

A Design for Absence

“Our special guest is not able to be with us this evening, and I am sorry for that,” Mr Kinnock told the crowd.

However, it wasn’t just Mr Burnham’s absence that came as a surprise, particularly given his attendance at an East Midlands event yesterday.

Ms Powell said Mr Burnham had picked a song for attendees to belt out at the end of the event.

Now, it wouldn't be unusual to hear a Welsh crowd sing Tom Jones, nor is it a surprise to imitate some of the principality’s best male voice choirs.

Instead, to the sound of confusion and silence, Mr Burnham picked A Design for Life by the Manic Street Preachers.

The lack of singing suggested the Welsh Night’s musical committee had been given rather limited input.

And it was an opening day where Prime Ministers from the past remained in the spotlight.

Mr Burnham didn't find the time to pay tribute to his predecessor in his own 470-message to delegates arriving in Liverpool.

The messages from Labour general secretary Hollie Ridley and Ms Powell were not much better, with the pair mentioning the ex-Labour leader just three times in more than 1,000 words.

The rivalry did at least make it onto the fringe, where the Labour Housing Group billed an event as "Starmer's Legacy & Burnham's Future".

And ex-Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard was also in town for an invitation-only appearance at the Museum of Liverpool.

Welsh Night organisers might have had more luck extending their "very special guest" invitation to her.

As the world's only Welsh-born Prime Minister, she would surely have picked something the crowd could sing.

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Election 2027, typos and Zack Polanski

Mr Burnham is doing his best to quash speculation about an early general election.

"All of this speculation on an early election, I can knock that dead," the Prime Minister said over the weekend.

However, on pages 32 and 33 of the conference handbook given to members, a subtle clue appeared to have made its way into print.

"Building Towards 2027 and Beyond," the members-only event was titled.

"Explore the electoral landscape ahead, understand the key challenges and opportunities, and discuss how we can communicate Labour's message effectively to voters," the blurb read.

Labour sources were quick to put the dampeners on yet more election speculation.

"There are lots of elections in 2027," one party insider told GB News.

It would not be unfair to put it down to a slip of the pen, given the same page billed the event for Monday, September 29. This year, at least, that date falls on a Tuesday.

Nor was it the handbook's only blunder.

The Health and Care Forum was rebranded the "Heath and Care Forum" six times, while the Daily Mirror's Kevin Maguire was billed as "Kevin Magiure."

But it is not only 2027 keeping Labour awake at night. Fears of an electoral bloody nose much sooner are being felt in Liverpool.

Mutterings about the Greens surging in Holborn and St Pancras made their way onto the train carriages heading north, especially after Zack Polanski's hustings appearance.

One Labour MP asked his aide: "What was the most horrible thing he said?"

The Union survives another night

Sinn Féin's trip across the Irish Sea fell through before delegates could even turn up to hear from the nationalist party's top brass.

An event, billed "A Future Beyond the Union: A New Chapter for Britain & Ireland", was looking to give attendees a boozy close to the first day of conference.

No Labour MPs were due to speak, with Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald and Fermanagh & South Tyrone Pat Cullen set to take to centre stage.

But events in Northern Ireland led to a rather disappointing announcement from Daily Mirror associate editor Kevin Maguire.

He said Northern Ireland was "going dangerously backwards" after an Orange Order parade down a Catholic street in Portadown, and that Ms McDonald needed to be in Ireland.

Ex-Labour MP Kate Hoey, born and raised in Northern Ireland, was less than impressed.

She told Mr Maguire to get his facts right, saying a 35-man parade had been given the legal right to walk a short distance and that Sinn Féin had brought people from across Northern Ireland to stop it.

And it's not the first time a Sinn Féin fringe has caused a stir at Labour Conference in 2015, when Jeremy Corbyn pulled out of the event at the last minute.

But as the night settled on a first day of conference festivities, bars across Liverpool were filled up with starry-eyed activists and Cabinet ministers looking to let off steam.

Those at the Pullman, a point of refuge for anyone hoping to sink a quick pint in between speeches, could even enjoy a new brand: No10 North Lager.

Placards, police and Pizza Express

Liverpool's waterfront turned into a festival of placards as protesters queued up to greet Labour's faithful.

Palestine Action supporters, Rejoin EU campaigners, digital ID opponents and those fighting the closure of an NHS ward all jostled for space outside the conference zone.

Spare a thought for the brave Chagossian protester, who stood holding her flag to protest against Labour's Chagos surrender deal single-handed.

As the numbers swelled, so did the police presence.

One officer told GB News: "There's a big presence, but we don't expect any trouble. It's like a football game."

The comparison proved more fitting than he might have hoped, as GB News understands more people were arrested yesterday than at the last Merseyside derby between Liverpool and Everton.

The confrontations did not end when the booze started flowing.

Ed Miliband was trying to enjoy a quiet dinner at Pizza Express when a protester confronted him, and the footage has since gone viral.